Ashok Chakra Award

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Description:

This article is about Ashok Chakra, an award. For information about Ashoka Chakra the symbol, see Ashoka Chakra.

The Ashok Chakra is an Indianmilitary decoration awarded for valor, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. It is the peace time equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for the "most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent valour or self-sacrifice" other than in the face of the enemy. The decoration may be awarded either to military or civilian personnel and may be awarded posthumously.

Subsequent awards of the Ashoka Chakra are recognized by a bar to the medal ribbon (Rakesh Sharma was the first to be awarded with Ashoka Chakra). It is possible for a recipient to be awarded the Kirti Chakra or Shaurya Chakra in addition for separate acts of gallantry.

History

The medal was originally established on 4 January 1952 as the "Ashoka Chakra, Class I" as the first step of a three-class sequence of non-combatant bravery decorations. In 1967, these decorations were removed from the "class-based" system and renamed as the Ashoka Charkra, Kirti Chakra, and Shaurya Chakra. This is an important point in understanding the independent Indian view of decorations. It would also lead to changes in the Padma Vibhushan series, the distinguished service medal series, the life saving medal series, and the Defence Security Corps medal series.

From 1 February 1999, the central government instituted a monthly...Read More